WASHINGTON — Amtrak will award 11 scholarships to “advance the future of rail” through the Amtrak Scholarship Program, intended to help full-time undergraduate and graduate students who are passionate about rail.
“As we continue to revolutionize the Amtrak experience, hiring to address significant demand is essential,” Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Qiana Spain said in a presss release. “Amtrak is creating a talent pipeline to invest in the future and address this new era of rail.”
The deadline for scholarship applications is Jan. 31 at 11:59 p.m. Among those scholarships available are those for:
— High school students who are Hispanic/Latinx, African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander;
— Women in STEM, for students pursuing an undergraduate or master’s degree majoring in science, technology, engineering, or math;
— Engineering, for student with an interest in rail engineering;
— IT, for students in information technology, computer science, or a similar field;
— Non-technical, for students in business, finance, marketing, supply chain, or a similar field;
— A. Philip Randolph, for children, spouses, civil-union partners or domestic partners of Amtrak employees, retirees, or furloughed employees.
Candidates are encouraged to submit more than one application. Scholarships will help with tuition, fees, books, and equipment. More information and an application is available at this page on the Amtrak careers website.
This is a positive step in the right direction to recruit a new generation of railroaders. If the railroad industry and especially the future of passenger rail travel is to survive and grow into the next century , Amtrak and the the railroads have to start making efforts to appeal and attract a new generation of bright young minds to carry the torch and keep the trains rolling into the future. And let us not forget that these young people who do enter the railroad industry are going to have new ideas and innovations to put forth to make trains run better, more efficient and actually turn a profit. Youth must be served and let us hope that Amtrak and the freight railroads treat these young people and new generation with honor and respect and give them their due place both in the operation and the boardrooms and executive levels. A career in railroading can be rewarding and respectable if it is done right and you train and hire the right people for the job
Joseph C. Markfelder
Who currently at Amtrak knows anything about railroading much less passenger railroading?
How about Amtrak focus on trying to get it’s idled car fleet back in active service rather than these scholarships?
Nice, so my mother is from a family of where our patriarch was a Chinese forced laborer who died building the Central Pacific over Donner Pass. My father ,white, descendant of Holocaust survivors and third generation railroaders who understand the evils of 24/7 job availability; but my offspring don’t belong to a specific minority because they are not transgender, so they get no priority for scholarship aide despite living below the defined poverty line. It’s just not fair…
They should offer scholarships to and recruit students in hospitality programs.